Not Applicable
Not Applicable
This invention relates to a disposable kit for cleaning inside the pierced sites or cavities of the human body.
Body piercing has been a long established practice in all countries and cultures. This practice has been manifest in the use of a wide variety of techniques and procedures involving numerous locations on the human body and various sizes of piercing to these sites.
Perhaps the most common and least painful example of body piercing involves piercing of the lower earlobe. Body piercing, however, has become more prevalent and widely accepted among the general population. It has become commonplace for individuals, especially those under twenty years of age in Western Countries, to have body piercing to the eyebrows, chin, lower as well as upper ear ridge, nose, mouth, tongue, navel, nipples, and even more private parts of the body.
Though the practice of body piercing has been around for centuries, people have traditionally experienced some health complications related to this practice. Complications most often are due to the absence of a suitable sterile environment, e.g., using piercing tools or instruments that are not sterile, or the insertion of non-sterile or contaminated appliances, rings, hooks, or whatever device or product is inserted into the pierced cavity, and poor hygiene.
Soreness, bacterial infections and closure of the desired pierced opening result from contamination and the absence of a proper sterile and aseptic cleaning method and kit. Bacterial action results from contamination of sensitive and difficult to get to portions of the body where body piercing has occurred. The removal of foreign matter and particles and the observance of sterile techniques promote more healthy skin tissue and reduce the incidence of infections, irritation, and soreness.
Maintaining clean and healthy tissue in pierced sites is important to one""s overall good health. Though there are devices and methods described in prior art that intended and described specifically for cleaning pierced ears, there are no devices, known to the applicants, that have been designed specifically for other body parts, including, but not limited to the eyebrows, chin, nose, mouth, tongue, navel, nipples, and even more private parts of the body. It is to these pierced body sites, which have not been anticipated in prior art, that our invention is addressed.
Other previously patented devices, which have limited application in that they are intended for cleaning the pierced earlobe only and have failed to anticipate cleaning needs of other pierced sites of the human body have been described in the following U.S. Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,402 of Karos, which claims an apparatus; which uses antiseptic fluid for cleaning and sterilizing ear lobe holes for pierced earrings; Our apparatus is designed for use in numerous pierced sites on the human body using either antiseptic or antibacterial solutions as appropriate since different sites require different solutions. Limitations of the straight firm tip means at one end of the string of Karos"" apparatus is overcome in our invention as our insertion tool is xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d shaped and the curvature allows for easier handling, access, and penetration of difficult to reach areas such as the pierced tongue; U.S. Pat. No. 3,500,829 of Abramowitz, which describes an ear hole piercing and treating apparatus, is designed to pierce the lobe of the human ear and substantially eliminate the possibility of infection once the ear has been pierced. It is another object of Abramowitz""s apparatus to provide an earring for wearing while allowing for the healing of the ear and for treating sore or infected ears. Unlike Abramowitz""s apparatus, our apparatus is not intended for use as an instrument to pierce ears, and is not designed for wearing as a combination piece of jewelry and treatment apparatus, and our apparatus is disposable after each use. Abramowitz""s apparatus is kept in the ear and worn over extended periods of time while our apparatus is used for a few moments providing an immediate cleaning with antiseptic or antibacterial solutions, depending on the pierced body part being cleaned, and then discarded. Abramowitz""s apparatus has a cleaning surface comprised of metal while our cleaning surface is a textured string; U.S. Pat. No. 3,203,418 of Johnston, which describes and claims an ear swab for use by some individuals is for removing a certain amount of the ear wax from the ears. Johnson""s swab has neither application for a pierced earlobe nor any other pierced body site; U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,461 of Hobbs, which describes and claims a method for cleaning a pierced ear hole is comprised of a single length of flexible strand having two ends folded back on itself to form a loop position with the two ends being bonded by being partially melted with heat. Our invention is intended to provide a more durable metal insertion tool whereby the textured string can be more easily inserted into additional pierced body sites; and, U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,216 of McCarty et al, which describes a cleaning method only for pierced ear lobes comprises a thread, such as a floss, being soaked in an astringent and pulled back and forth to clean the ear lobe. Our invention provides an apparatus for cleaning other pierced sites on the human body not anticipated in prior art.
Our invention is a disposable body piercing cleaning kit for cleaning inside pierced sites or cavities on the human body. These sites include, but are not limited to the eyebrows, chin, nose, mouth, tongue, navel, nipples, and even more private parts of the body.
This invention provides a method to deal with soreness, irritation, and closure of the desired pierced openings that result from contamination and the absence of a proper sterile and aseptic cleaning kit. It provides for a kit to remove foreign matter and particles by using a sterile technique, which promotes more healthy skin tissue and reduces the incidence of soreness, irritation, and infections. Such problems are very common and are experienced by individuals from all walks of life all over the world.
This disposable body piercing cleaning kit utilizes newly designed parts in combination with some basic materials and products that are currently available in the marketplace to achieve a uniquely designed and workable invention.
The basic materials utilized in this invention, with all being shown in FIGS. 1, 1A, 2 and 2A, include: a xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d shaped stainless steel insertion tool, with one end having a firm fibrous material or plastic covered end, and the other end having a threading eye FIG. 2(1D) or a sleeved and crimped end FIG. 2B(1D) into which the string is fitted, sealed packages for the insertion tool and textured string FIG. 1A(3,4), three strands of textured cleaning string of various composition, texture, and size; three vials of solution (each approximately 3 ml to 5 ml), one vial containing an antibacterial mouthwash, one vial containing an antiseptic solution, and one vial containing sterile water; three individually prepackaged sterile cleaning and disinfecting alcohol prep pads or other swabs having disinfecting and sterilizing properties; an insertion tool threader for installing the textured cleaning string; a package and storage container base; and, a screw-on cap for the aforementioned devices comprising the disposable body piercing cleaning kit.